MQS Management LLC Invests $213,000 in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at $42,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. This represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $29.21 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HRL shares. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.57.

Hormel Foods Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.